| 166 153 |                           | White money game Blue |
Problem #5 Play Votes Score24/23, 17/13 10 10017/13, 6/5* 1 6024/20, 17/16 0 4024/20, 6/5* 0 4013/8 0 4013/9, 6/5* 0 40
Chuck Bower: 24/23, 17/13.
My first instinct is to knock White off my 5-point, especiallywith my awkward stack there. However this flys in the face ofthe safe-vs-bold criteria. One back for me; three for White.No anchor for me; anchor for White. One point board for me;two point board for White. Enough?
This looks like a "ya gotta dance with the dice that brung ya"kind of problem. Whose advantage is Blue's single on his 17-point?This gives White a very good 5. Moving up one space duplicates4's but the accomanying 24/20 leaves White good aces and deuces.17/13, 24/23. It's White who wants to pick a fight. Blue's position and roll say "run".
Neil Kazaross: 24/23, 17/13.
Simple plays for simple minds like mine when they are ahead in the raceand haven't thrown a joker. 17-13 24-23 for me. I'll hope for a joker next roll.
George Klitsas: 24/23, 17/13.
With White having the better board, Blue is well advised to avoid hitting loose on his five point. I think that 24/23 17/13 is clear.
Laila Leonhardt: 24/23, 17/13.
Blue has a nice lead in the race and he should try to keep it that way.There is not much sense in hitting loose, chancing more blot exchange withWhite who has more points in his home board and who would welcome thisattack.Aim for getting home and avoid contact if esthetically possible when you areahead in the race.A good way to know if your move is right is to turn the position around andask yourself what you would prefer to happen if you were the opponent.
Snowie: 24/23, 17/13.
White has the stronger board, so why get involved in complications?24/23, 17/13 gets my back checker to where it can see daylight, as wellas getting my other outfield checker safe.
Marty Storer: 24/23, 17/13.
Magriel's safe-vs-bold criteria call for a safe play,of which Blue has exactly one. He maintains a lead inthe race and an advantage in number of checkers back.He has a good chance to enter a race or to play safelywhile waiting for the right opportunity to run, attackor build. White has no big threat, so Blue should beable to afford a weenie play.
Bob Stringer: 17/13, 6/5*.
White's stronger board suggests caution, but I've got to fight forthe 5 point. Also, something's got to be done about that L-shapedstructure on the 6 to 8 points. 6/5* aims to solve both problems,while 17/13 gives a nod to caution, so I'm not being threatenedtwo places at once.
Casper van der Tak: 24/23, 17/13.
Safeties one checker, prepares to escape the other; simple and safe. The safe vs. bold criteria argue against 17/13 6/5*, which is a close second choice.
Kit Woolsey: 24/23, 17/13.
Hitting loose gives White a lot of return shots, and it is White who hasthe stronger board while I have the racing lead. The advance to the 23point prepares to escape as I get everything else safe. This seems to bethe thematic approach here.
Chris Yep: 24/23, 17/13.
Similar to problem 3. Thematically Blue should race. Also note that since White has his 7 point instead of 8 point, moving up (24/23) gives Blue more chances to run the remaining back checker into the outfield next turn. 24/23 17/13 looks best. If Blue had a weaker prime (e.g. just his 6 and 8 points), then fighting it out with 6/5* might be better since Blue would still have difficulty bringing his position home even after having escaped all his back men. This is not the case here though. The extra landing point is significant, so Blue will have significantly better chances to come home safely after escaping all his back men. This is enough to make 24/23 17/13 best in my mind.
Summary: Another lopsided vote. There is a time and a place to fightfor the five point, but this is not the time and place. The panel properlymade the thematic safe play.